Antimalarial quinolines

Antimalarial quinolines are used to prevent and treat malaria. During the blood stages of the life cycle of malaria parasite the parasite needs to degrade hemoglobin. Hemoglobin digestion releases free heme that is toxic to the parasite, so it is then polymerised to non toxic hemozoin. Antimalarial quinolines are thought to interfere with this polymerisation and kills the malaria parasite by the accumulation of toxic free heme.